Thursday, May 19, 2011

Early Morning Adventures

Who says that a full-time father, husband, employee and instructor doesn’t have time for himself? I think it’s a lie, something made to discourage us. Not that I always need time to myself, just that it’s great to get outside and do things while not sacrificing your time at home with family. All it takes is an early morning alarm, some good carbs, plenty of water, a picture perfect sunrise and some good company to make everyday an adventure.
Hike data can be found here.

Meet Prairie Mountain. Site of winter flying, very strenuous hikes (as described by the guide) and early morning outings.

Now put these three things together and you get yourself an adventure, all before the daily grind. We threw this idea together pretty quick, and now want to make a habit of regularly getting out to do this sort of thing pre-work. I think it’s great, cause you look forward to it in the days leading up to it, and you reflect on it in the days afterwards. Ahhhh…..

Last time I was here, there was much more snow, but some still lingered.

We made the hike more adventurous, with bouldering detours. It was early so M was still sleeping during the ascent.

The summit ridge. Last time, there was lots of snow. This time it was warm and melty, like a delicious grill cheese sandwich.

Hero Summit Shot.

More Heroic Summit shot.

An artsy summit shot. Nice one M!

The best part about summiting is eating while you are up there. But since we had to be in the office in about an hour (it was only 730am), we figured we’d keep the meal short and make our descent.

It warmed up quite a bit and I was very happy not to have brought my snowpants.

Kananaskis country. Empty. No one there. Except one dude we startled who was just coming up as we finished our descent.

M couldn’t resist this photo. This is why I hike with this guy. He’s fun and goofy.

My thoughts on the hike… well pretty serene. There is nothing like fresh mountain air at 6am. There is nothing like an endless narration spewing from me about our adventures as we climbed. There is nothing like sitting at the summit at 730am thinking, “In two hours, I’ll be plopped in front of my computer facing the daily stresses.” There is nothing like knowing that when I get home, I have all the time I need to spend with my wife and son. Life’s good. Make everyday an adventure. It’s possible, oh yes it is.